


Always Kneel, Never Rise

by maidenofwyrd



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Death Star, Movie: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Other, Reader really admires her father, i'm sorry but i'm ignoring the rule of two, let the hate flow through you, note that i wrote this before rise of skywalker came out, or maybe sidious just doesn't care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:08:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22093864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maidenofwyrd/pseuds/maidenofwyrd
Summary: When (Y/N), daughter of Emperor Palpatine, learns that Luke Skywalker is about to meet her father, she is confident that he will easily be turned to the Dark Side. Although, not everything goes according to plan, and sometimes overconfidence is a weakness...
Relationships: Sheev Palpatine & Luke Skywalker, Sheev Palpatine & Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I use quotes from Return of the Jedi. That being said I own nothing!  
> 2\. This is my first Reader story, so hopefully it's alright. Originally, I wrote this with Reader as myself. I was inspired after wearing a hooded black cape, and using it to cosplay as Palpatine's daughter.

She knelt before him with her hood nearly covering her eyes. When considering other officers of the Imperial fleet, she took pride in calling those men insignificant and pitiful compared to her. Few of them she called her equal, Lord Vader being one of the few exceptions. But only Darth Sidious, her emperor and father, would she kneel to.

The Emperor stood from his throne and gently lifted his hand, yellow eyes gleaming deep in the shadows of his hood. "Rise, my child."

(Y/N) Palpatine obeyed the command. "Father," she began, "I have just received news that Lord Vader has Skywalker in his company. They will be with you shortly." His lips lifted upwards to flash his trademark sinister grin. "Good. Now only in a matter of time will Skywalker join us. The Force is strong with him; I can only imagine what powers he will bring to us."

"And another child will rule alongside his father. There is no greater feeling than following in a parent's footsteps."

Palpatine acknowledged her praise by placing a hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder. Together they walked towards the window and gazed into the black sea of stars. (Y/N) knew that even though her father wouldn't say it out loud, she felt, by the touch of his hand, a sense of pride in having her for a daughter. Had she ever failed him? No, of course not!

Well, some people would say otherwise, but had those issues really become a problem? The answer: no again. Overall she had pleased him, and took his teachings to heart.

Starting when (Y/N) turned five, Palpatine had taken time out of his schedule to breed her into one of the most dangerous Sith in the galaxy-- as it should be for the Emperor's daughter. He was the central figure she had seen as a role model, and she strove to impress him even as a little girl. As she wielded the fire of her seething anger, she drunk in the Dark Side with such ease, as Sidious had told her many times in her training. It was only fitting, he went on, that his daughter would continue to rise victorious through many battles against her enemies. "Skywalker is surely skilled in the Force," (Y/N) said, "but once he receives your training, there's not a chance he could surpass you. Even today he will feel the temptation; the newly fledged Jedi will feel so pathetically weak in the presence of three Sith masters." The Emperor turned his face from the stars and back to her. "Yes indeed," he answered with suppressed excitement. (Y/N) flexed her fingers, and she caught Palpatine watching her closely. Like her father, she could execute force lightning on anyone she wished, at any moment. As she thought of the Jedi whose presence would soon poison the Imperial throne room, (Y/N)'s desire to electrocute him on the spot simmered in her core like hot, acrid acid. Palpatine sensed her fury, but he smiled nonetheless. "I know you hate the word 'Jedi,' my dear, but that is insignificant. The Jedi in him shall succumb to us like a flame swamped by the night." He spoke the truth; everything was proceeding as her father had foreseen. (Y/N) clutched the hilt of her unsheathed lightsaber fastened at her hip. Her contentment in the moment was complete when Palpatine's laugh echoed throughout the room, the gentle sound as dark as the vast space before them.


	2. Chapter 2

Her posture regal and taut, (Y/N) watched father and son walk up the steps to Palpatine's throne. The only greeting she gave was a smile and lift of her chin; it was not her place to speak first.

On cue, Palpatine swiveled his seat to face the newcomers. "Welcome, young Skywalker. I and my daughter have been expecting you. You no longer need those." As Skywalker's wrists were released from their bonds, (Y/N) was reminded of the Sith code. _Through victory, my chains are broken..._ Ever an admirer of symbolism, she interpreted the scene before her as a sign of true victory. Soon, Luke would be persuaded; soon, those blue eyes of his will burn yellow.

Once the guards left the room, Palpatine continued. "I am looking forward to completing your training. In time, you will call me... Master."

"You're gravely mistaken," Skywalker undauntedly replied. "You won't convert me as you did my father."

"Oh no, my young Jedi." Palpatine stood and approached the boy. "You will find that it is you who are mistaken... about a great many things."

(Y/N) knitted her brows. She could not understand how her father kept his own temper from lashing out or moving to rip out Skywalker's tongue. As for her, she would put an end to his insolent rejections-- forget first impressions and petty niceties! Skywalker was fortunate that the Emperor was willing to be patient in his manipulations. If (Y/N) dared unleash her restraint, she was certain her words would not be as calm as her father's... and she would not regret it.

"His lightsaber," Vader handed Skywalker's weapon to the Emperor.

"Ah yes. A Jedi's weapon..." he turned to the boy, "much like your father's. By now you must know that your father can never be turned from the Dark Side. So will it be with you."

Skywalker shook his head. "You're wrong. Soon I'll be dead, and you with me."

Palpatine laughed in amusement. "Perhaps you refer to the imminent attack of your rebel fleet. I assure you, we are quite safe from your friends here."

(Y/N)'s senses were now fully alert; she saw the strong resistance in the Jedi's eyes as he spoke the threat. She needed to be prepared for any further indication of danger to her father; (Y/N) would not give up a duty she felt bound to. The blood running through her veins bound her to the Emperor, and she would gladly kill for him. "Your overconfidence is your weakness," Skywalker declared. "Your faith in your friends is yours," Palpatine retorted, clearly unaffected. As Vader warned Luke about the futility to resist, the young Jedi made eye contact with (Y/N); she had used the Force to bring his attention to her. She pierced him with a predatory gaze and spoke to him telepathically: _Know your place, Skywalker, and watch your tongue. You don't impress me at all._


	3. Chapter 3

Vader and Skywalker fought against each other, while (Y/N) and her father observed in the shadows. Jedi against Sith--both had the strong will, but (Y/N) had begun to doubt Vader's victory. Watching Luke's moves, she became more convinced of herself. He would not be turned.

"I sense an unwelcome imbalance in this fight, Father," she whispered. "The possibility of defeat concerns me."

Palpatine silently frowned at her. "He is walking on the dark path we have paved for him."

There it was again--his kriffing overconfidence. She hated to admit it, but Skywalker's insult was not wrong. "Just listen to me for once, you're not even considering--"

His lift of a finger was enough to silence her. "Have you lost your faith in me?"

The drawn-out question simmered with underlying wrath, but (Y/N) held his stone gaze. "I have not... my Lord."

Palpatine accepted the answer before he sharply turned on her.

A fantasy she had toyed with unraveled once again from the back of (Y/N)'s mind: she imagined herself sucking the power out of the Emperor, her ecstatic cackle rising from her throat as she let her newly acquired title of Empress sink in. His death would provide satisfaction for the moment, but she always had to keep rationality a priority; in the aftermath, she would feel guilt in destroying him, and that would only do more damage to herself. Tears mean weakness, shaking legs make a Sith falter. _So do not kill your father,_ she often said to herself, _or your own life will surely end. So long as he lives, I belong at his side. Never the empress, always the apprentice._

Skywalker disarmed Vader with a slash of his lightsaber, cutting off a mechanical hand. Sidious reveled in glee; by now he seemed to dismiss (Y/N)'s proposition altogether. "Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny. Take your father's place at my side."

Skywalker seemed to have regained his senses as he stared at his own mechanical hand, then back at Vader's. When he tossed the lightsaber away, (Y/N) knew there was no turning back. "Never. I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

The silence Palpatine exhibited was deafening; it radiated from him like angry waves of energy, reaching towards (Y/N) as if to hiss at her: _You were right_. "So be it, Jedi." Palpatine lifted his arms. "If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed." Full power was released, Force lightning electrocuting the Jedi.

(Y/N) stepped forward until she stood by Palpatine. All bitter thoughts towards her father were forgotten as she seized her chance to hurt, to inflict pain. _This_ was what it meant to be a Sith. "Young fool," her father taunted. "Only now, at the end, do you understand."

She freed her own Force lightning onto the writhing boy. "We gave you a chance. Sorry to say that you have lost. If only you made the right choice. Such potential gone to waste..."

"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side," Palpatine said. "You have paid the price for your lack of vision."

Luke cried for his father to help him; his pleads were all in vain. When Palpatine declared Skywalker's death sentence, (Y/N) couldn't remember herself feeling more excited in a long time. She was intoxicated in her dark powers again, and she, with her father, was extracting all her strength onto the Jedi, intending to extinguish his blue flame for good.

(Y/N) couldn't hold back a mocking smile towards Vader, the poor father who had to see his son die. But as soon as she made the move, it provoked the Dark Lord to lift his master up before (Y/N) could stop him. The Emperor was tossed down the Death Star shaft, and a huge explosion erupted, marking the end of Darth Sidious and his reign.

Vehement winds whipped (Y/N)'s face as she stared down the shaft, her trembling mouth agape. Skywalker's resistance she had predicted, but never Vader's betrayal. 

Shock soon turned to rage as she gritted her teeth and faced Vader, her new enemy. She ignited her lightsaber on impulse, accusingly pointing the red beam at him. With her other hand she poised to attack with lightning. Yes, (Y/N) wanted to use both. It would go against her teachings, but she didn't care. So long as she fought the traitor...

She felt her feet slightly rising as Vader began the Force choke. Her grip on the lightsaber weakened and it fell to the ground. Despite (Y/N)'s suffocating neck, she managed to use her lightning on Vader. Their powers clashed against each other, trying their hardest to force the other into submission.

She was not thinking straight, not as reality-- the loss of her Emperor-- continued to sink in. Her head felt heavy and her world blurred, as if she lost some of her powers down the shaft with her father. 

Suddenly a burning sensation impaled her stomach, and it was not Vader's lightsaber. Skywalker had taken up arms; her _own_ weapon had been used for her demise. Hot tears scorched her eyes, and (Y/N) collapsed to the floor at Vader's release. 

The ceiling spun above her. She felt death's darkness beginning to feed on her as she just lay there, unable to keep her eyes open. The greatest Sith Lord had died so easily at the hands of his underling. Now his daughter is dying a weakling, rather than the Empress she was destined to be-- if only for a short, bittersweet moment.

_I'm sorry, Father. I have failed you._


End file.
